Monday, April 30, 2007

Looks like nerdcore is making a strong showing in Austin this year... MC Frontalot @ Stubb's on May 2nd. I'm curious if nerdcore can really fill Stubb's... hmmm...

So I turn on the radio today at 8 AM on my way to work and just happen to catch Bavu Blakes on 93.3... how dope is that. They had just finished playing "Play the Role", one of my favs. Then they start interviewing him by asking how he felt about Chamillionaire claiming to not curse in his albums. Bavu replied it was to each rappers discretion, which I thought was good. Props to Bavu.

Damian Hess (born December 3, 1973), known by stage name MC Frontalot, is a San Franciscan hip hop musician and self-proclaimed "world's 579th greatest rapper." He is best known in nerdcore hip hop and video game culture for naming the nerdcore subgenre, and performing at Penny Arcade's annual Expo.

Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and recording competition, where he became known for consistently besting opponents. Throughout his history at Song Fight!, Hess has never lost a competition, although he has entered only seven entries in the traditional Song Fight! style.[1] In one such song fight, entitled "Romantic Cheapskate", he likens Song Fight! to a neglected lover who favours him regardless of how he treats her.[2] Indicative of his success, the song went on to garner a total of 614 votes, while the next closest song ended the round with 28.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Straight outta Killeen... Crew54's tearin it up in Austin. We recently got a chance to catch up with them in their busy schedule. Thanks for taking the time... here's what they had to say...

Can you give your fans a quick bio of yourself?

G-Christ: Two cats that love hip hop

mos: We were both working in different areas, at the time I was doing solo work, and G-christ was putting it down with The Texas Immigrants. Crew54 started out as a collaborative effort that has manifested into what it is today.

Which is your latest CD? and how do you think it differs from your previous works?

G-Christ: Middle Road Mixtape. On this one we were more involved with other artists on the scene, and it shows versatility.

mos: Our first effort is Beaters and Babies, that was more of an "we coming, yall better open up them doors," type of thing. Middle Road is a "well we still coming, but we further along, and we got some folks riding shotgun."

What gives you inspiration and how does that transpire into your music?

G-Christ: My inspiration is and has been, knowing that when it's time to move, I won't be moving by myself. We have healthy competition. I know MOS is going to bring it, so I have to step my game up!

mos: I am inspired by the quality of music we end up creating, whether it be soulful, aggressive, trash talking, street music, or political. I know that we are both dedicated to bringing the heat, whether on track or on stage.

Which artists inspire you the most? and why?

G-Christ: Any artists out here, on the grind, trying to bring good music to the people. To name one, the group Little Brother. The drive they have to keep pushing out music the way they do inspires me.

mos: lately its been the small acts that I have noticed start to make a real buzz and name for themselves. I see the moves they are making and compare it with what we are doing and know we are on the right track.

What has kept you from moving to cities with larger markets? Especially since it's only been recently that Houston has blown up.

G-Christ: Truthfully we talk about moving to Austin all the time lol! Right now as long as we can make it these to these big cities to do shows, I'm not worried. We will still have a presence.

mos: If the time comes to move to a bigger city and everything falls in place then we will have to consider it. Neither of us is from Killeen, but right now its home and I like it here. The way we grind, most people either think we are from Austin or San Antonio.

How do you see the scene locally? and where do you see it going?

G-Christ: The local scene right now just needs more support from the people. I understand the drop off, I've seen the shows people don't want to go to, but there are a lot of artist who have great shows and they need support from the fans and other artists. We get a little bit of that the scene will blow up!

mos: You can only get out of anything, especially the local scene, what you put into it. Thats why we stay on the grind, passing out flyers, building with other artist, and interacting. We feel like we have the type of music that can spread globably, but if you cant get love where you live at, how are you posed to go somewhere else and ask them to rep ya?

What is your favorite venue to perform at? and why?

G-Christ: Well, since the black sheep was my favorite, I have to go with EMOS . I know every time we do Emos we are going to kill em, because our style of hip hop is normal there.

mos: I don't what my favorite venue to perform at is, Emos is probably at the top. But I have to say that when we did our song SHINE for the first time at Redrum we blew it up, that will always stay with me.

Can you give us 3 of your most favorite local artists?

G-Christ: Mr. Bavu Blakes, Alpha 20/20 (the boy's in like 3 groups son), and probably Brokebread from Under the Table.

mos: Well he named my list, so I will go with DJ Diamond Tip, Cali Zack, and all the other cats out there really doing it right, sorry for the cliche answer.

What is the best piece of advice that someone in the industry has given you?

G-Christ: Have energy when performing and never sleep on the game, because there is always someone out there just as hungry!

mos: Someone told me to speak to my fans and not at them, once you learn how to connect with the listener then your message will have a more powerful effect.

And a more light-hearted question: Have you seen a correlation between your level of success and quality of hoes?

G-Christ: Nope they just get crazier and have stalker tendencies now lol!

mos: yea G-Christ should redo "Somebodie's Watching Me" and have that play behind him everywhere he goes.

Dude... called Allen Samuel Dodge today to check up on the status of my car... and the lady was like... we've been emailing the insurance company 2 times a day trying to get some information to buy the parts and haven't gotten a reply... I dropped the car off on Monday... I was like... WTF?!? You didn't figure to pick up the phone and call them? or call me? gees... the pissy thing is that I'm not covered for the rental car until the body shop gets the parts in to start the repairs. I'm about to go ballistic...

Monday, April 23, 2007

Don't quite remember how I came across these cats... not even quite sure how one would pronounce "Nuits"... but Dez Nuits will be @ Ruta Maya's on April 29th. Check out their stuff on Myspace here.

It's been a stressful couple weeks and hopefully now it's coming to an end. I was in a car accident about 2 weeks back. Minor one, I was leaving my parking garage as someone was coming in. Got hit on the driver side and the guy just kept on going. Then dealing with the insurance company... things just took forever... now I'm pimpin' in a Kia Spectra... Ex in fact... someone should start a business where you pimp out a rental car for a couple days... with rims and hydrolics and shit.

While many wannabes talk about how they are going to blow, how much they grind, what they are going to do some day somehow, but sit around doing nothing, CREW54 rose from the darkness to get the shine they deserve. Beginning as a simple one song collaborative effort between G-Christ of The Texas Immigrants, and masterOFself of The M7 Movement; the CREW54 is ready to take their place the Central Texas Hip-Hop scene and beyond.

A B-boy/break-boy (male) or B-girl/break-girl (female) is a term for a person who is devoted to hip-hop culture. The term "B-boy" has come to refer more specifically to a male who practices what the media refers to as breakdancing, i.e., an individual who has the ability to express his feelings through rhythmic dance combining a variety of dance forms with gymnastics and original body movements. These stylized movements are commonly known as "breaking" or "breakdancing," and B-boys are often called breakdancers.

is commonly thought to have coined the term B-boy in 1979 in New York City. During his DJing performances, he would yell "B-boys go down!" which cued the dancers to begin breaking. (However, the original dancers who performed with him were part of a crew called "The B-boys" before they started dancing with Herc, so it is unlikely that he coined the term.) Ten years prior, in 1969, James Brown recorded "Get on the Good Foot," a song promoting high-energy, acrobatic dancing, and that Afrika Bambaataa (founder of the Zulu Nation) claims led to B-boying (Toop, 1991).

Who are the SuperStarDjs? Individually and collectively the SuperStarDjs have been a mainstay in the Austin Hip Hop scene since its infancy. As true Texas b-boys they are now on a mission to once again elevate the status of the Hip Hop Dj to the masses. Drawing on hip hop’s history, the SuperStarDjs are taking it back to the roots. Having performed on many stages throughout Texas and beyond, the SuperStarDjs have an ability to command the crowd with unmistakable confidence. The SuperStarDjs play hip hop as it was intended.

Monday, April 16, 2007

So today's a crazy day... you guys been following the whole Virgina Tech shootings? WTF? That's some crazy shit... On the news they were comparing this with the UT tower shootings... and I was like yeah... we're famous... j/j...

Devin The Dude (born Devin Copeland), is a hip hop artist from Houston, Texas. Though relatively well-known among the underground hip-hop community, Devin did not achieve mainstream success until his breakout performance on the single Fuck You on Dr. Dre's 2001 album, released in 1999. Devin has released four albums, The Dude, Just Tryin' Ta Live, To Tha X-Treme and Waitin' To Inhale He was also a member of southern rap groups "Odd Squad", "Facemob", and recently has released an album with his group, The "Coughee Brothaz" entitled "Collector's Edition". Devin's work is also light-hearted and comically self-deprecating.

diRTy WoRMz were formulated, plotted and instigated in the year 2001. The band was the brainchild of Smackola and DJ Crash, hip hop artists who wanted to rock harder and louder than anything Austin, TX had ever seen. The legend began with the release of the first diRTy WORMz CD, The Infektion. Featuring an all star lineup from the local rock and hip hop communities, The Infektion was a regional best seller for years to come.

diRTy WoRMz quickly evolved into one of the most devastating live acts in Texas, leaving scores of scorched musicians in their wake. dWz was voted Austin's Best Hip Hop act two years running, won Best Urban Video for their cover of Run-DMC's "Here We Go", and the single "Top Of The Food Chain" was the year's top local request on Austin's 101X.

SuperStarDjs in conjunction with Romeo Navarro's B-Boy City will be hosting the first annual King of Scratch DJ Battle on Friday, May 4th, during B-Boy City 14. B Boy City is the countries premiere B Boy showcase. Current DJ competitions have swayed from this fundamental element. King of Scratch intends to take it back to hip hop’s roots and showcase the pure genius of the Scratch! As the B Boy Event expands SuperStarDjs will be hosting a DJ battle designed to showcase the DJ elements most fundamental skill, the scratch! Whether it was DJ DXT on “Rock It” or DJ Jazzy Jeff on “The Magnificent”, we have all been memorized by the endless combination of coordinated fader and record movements. The contest is open to all scratch DJ’s from around Texas and beyond. Judging will be based on originality, creativity & most importantly the scratch. We are currently coordinating with some special guest DJ's to judge the competition and determine the 2007 King of Scratch. Registration for the King of Scratch is free of charge. The contest is for solo DJs only, no teams will be permitted to compete.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Looks like Maggie Mae's is thrown' it down... i mean down... like downtown... oh lord... why do I say stuff like that?!? Anyways... D-Madness wrote in to tell us about a couple dope shows... Friday, April 13th we've got Afrofreque... who's Station?!?

D-Madness aka Dwayne Jackson is the baddest musician in this world. In the studio, he basically plays everything but horns. He was playing in orchestras, overseas, by his teens. He's played in studios, bars and clubs since his teenage years. If you need ANYTHING between cello parts and vocal percussion, D-Madness can help you. He is the ultimate session musician. On stage, the normal D-Madness setup is bass guitar or electric guitar, drums, his ASR-10 production keyboard and a vocal mic. He might also play a cheek solo, a nearby beer bottle, or double-time his bass drum with the sticks (even ex-Living Colour drummer, Will Calhoun, was baffled). When Japan's DJ Krush first saw him perform, he asked D to play bass guitar and violin on his next record. When Erykah Badu saw him soundcheckin' at her Black Forest Theater (near his native Oak Cliff, Texas), she pushed him later in the schedule so Prince could see him.

Jamie Foxx (born Eric Marlon Bishop on December 13, 1967) is an American actor, R&B singer, pianist, and comedian. Foxx won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Ray, a biopic about the life of musician Ray Charles. As such, he is the third African-American in history to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.

He came to Los Angeles in the late 1980s to start a music career. He released an album in 1994, called Peep This and later sang the theme for Any Given Sunday. Even as he pursued a music career, Foxx did stand-up at comedy clubs, mostly on open-mic nights. On his name: "I wrote down all these unisex names at this comedy place because they would always choose the girls to go up... So I wrote down Stacy King, Tracy Brown, Jamie Foxx... And they picked Jamie Foxx. I stood up, had a great night and that's how the name stuck." In California, he won the 1991 Oakland Comedy Competition and then joined the cast of In Living Color, which at the time starred Keenen Ivory Wayans.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Ooooo... I remember the first time I saw Bone Thugs at the Frank Erwin Center... it was like my freshmen or sophomore year at UT... it was amazing... then they dropped off... always thought they were great...

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is a Grammy Award winning American gangsta rap group from Cleveland, Ohio, known for their fast rapping style and harmonizing vocals. The group is the best-selling rap group of all time, with thirty-five million albums sold worldwide.[1] They have also won numerous awards, including a 1997 Grammy in the category of Best Rap Performance for "Tha Crossroads".

Formed in the early 1990s and discovered by Eazy-E, the group was originally known as "B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e" and consisted of Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Wish Bone, and Bizzy Bone. They recorded their first album Faces of Death under this name in early 1991. Soon after, Flesh-n-Bone (Layzie Bone's brother) was added to the group.

Their career took off in the mid 1990s after heading to Los Angeles on a Greyhound bus in search of N.W.A leading member Eazy-E. They auditioned over the phone to him in hopes of securing a record deal, but Eazy-E's promise to call them back went unfulfilled. Discovering that Eazy-E was performing in Cleveland, Flesh-n-Bone had to work at KFC so they could make enough money to afford a bus. Upon arrival in Cleveland, the group auditioned in person and they were promptly signed to a contract with Eazy-E's Ruthless Records.

Ever have coincidence happenings that just scares the sh*t out of you?!? Here's a stupid example... the actual thing that happened was much crazier... so the example is like so... say you're taking a dump... someone calls you while taking a dump that their toilet is backed up... you then flush your toilet and find out that YOUR toilet is backed up... gees...

Tee Double has blurred the distinctions commonly associated with entrepreneurs, songwriters, producers, and poets. Armed with a freestyle grace that can only be witnessed in person, he has let his lyrics flow, defined with bass lines that have given them power to shape a community.

An Austin-born emcee, producer and promoter, Tee Double has released numerous highly aclaimed independent albums, spanning more than a decade of Texas hip-hop's history. After years of recording and performing, created Kinetic Marketing in hopes of promoting major label acts in the Southern region of the U.S.

The newly created company opened up opportunities for other hip-hop artists in the city of Austin and the surrounding area.

Tee Double also has worked as the National Urban Hip-Hop Coordinator for SXSW, a yearly conference and exhibition in Austin highlighting the entertainment industry. The culmination of artistic talent and business knowledge has allowed Tee Double the ability to succeed in an otherwise volatile industry.

Chris Ward IV (born September 2, 1975), otherwise known as mc chris (always free from punctuation and capitalization), is a voice actor, rapper and improvisational comedian born in Libertyville, Illinois. He is currently signed on the indie label jet pack industries and also signed with the record label DC Flag Records. His trademarks include the synthesis of his "geek" heritage with the "gangster" image associated with hip hop artists, and the high pitch of his voice, celebrated in his 2003 song "10 Year Old" (likening his voice to a child of ten years age).

Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known as Canibus and also as Can-I-Bus and Rip the Jacker, is a Jamaican-born American MC and rapper.

After his parents, Basil and Elaine Williams, divorced, Williams moved to the United States with his mother at the age of thirteen. His first new home was The Bronx, where he found an interest in the hip-hop culture, beatboxing, breakdancing and rap music. Due to his mother's job he was often forced to move, living in Washington, D.C., Miami, Florida, Buffalo, New York, England (where his mother originated from), Atlanta, Georgia and New Jersey. This constant movement limited his ability to make friends and turned him into something of a recluse.[1] Williams graduated high school in 1992 and went on to work for AT&T and the US Department of Justice as a data analyst. It was at this time that Williams became highly interested in the Internet. Having developed this interest in computers and the Internet, he studied computer science at DeKalb Community College (now Georgia Perimeter College) in Atlanta.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Many thanks to Anonymous (See comment post below) for letting us know about the latest Planet Rock Party @ The Parish this Saturday, April 7th. Planet Rock Parties are the best! I wish I wasn't going back to H-town for Easter. Sorry Ernesto, you're gonna have to go at this one alone.

A B-boy/break-boy (male) or B-girl/break-girl (female) is a term for a person who is devoted to hip-hop culture. The term "B-boy" has come to refer more specifically to a male who practices what the media refers to as breakdancing, i.e., an individual who has the ability to express his feelings through rhythmic dance combining a variety of dance forms with gymnastics and original body movements. These stylized movements are commonly known as "breaking" or "breakdancing," and B-boys are often called breakdancers.

is commonly thought to have coined the term B-boy in 1979 in New York City. During his DJing performances, he would yell "B-boys go down!" which cued the dancers to begin breaking. (However, the original dancers who performed with him were part of a crew called "The B-boys" before they started dancing with Herc, so it is unlikely that he coined the term.) Ten years prior, in 1969, James Brown recorded "Get on the Good Foot," a song promoting high-energy, acrobatic dancing, and that Afrika Bambaataa (founder of the Zulu Nation) claims led to B-boying (Toop, 1991).

I'm a rap artist whose passion for greatness for myself and my community fires everything I do. I speak truthfully and wittily about my view of life in a way that all who hear it feel it. Even my chosen name, NOOK, represents my core of beliefs. NOOK which stands for Never Outcasting Our Kind" speaks about people like me who have the odds against them, and their destiny to be great is blocked. If you can plant the seed of your vision, that visualization makes anything possible! Thats what I want my people to see.

Pete Rock (born Peter Phillips, June 21, 1970 in Mount Vernon, New York) is an American hip hop DJ, producer and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 90s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth. After the duo went their separate ways, Rock continued with a solo career that has garnered him worldwide respect, if little in the way of mainstream success. Rock played a major role in the merging of elements from jazz into hip hop music, along with Stetsasonic, A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr. Considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time[1][2][3], he is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier and RZA, as one of the mainstays of 1990s East Coast hip hop production. Pete Rock is also the younger cousin of rapper Heavy D.